Maker Schedule and Deep Work Importance

From: alexhormozi

Productivity is defined as the amount of money gained for the time invested [00:00:00]. A significant increase in net worth from $0at23toover$100 million at 31 was attributed to better time investment [00:00:04]. The best investors of time are those who earn the most money [00:01:05].

There are two primary types of schedules entrepreneurs utilize: the manager schedule and the maker schedule [00:01:11]. Individuals may switch between these “hats” throughout their day or week [00:01:13].

The Manager Schedule

The manager schedule is the most common time investment approach [00:01:17].

Characteristics of the Manager Schedule

Managers divide their time into the smallest possible chunks, often having 20+ segments per day ranging from 5 to 90 minutes [00:01:30]. For managers, an empty time slot is a lost opportunity, representing time that didn’t yield a return on investment [00:01:43]. They treat time like currency, with the primary cost being the coordination of calendars to find mutually empty slots [00:01:51]. When managers interact and fill a slot, both parties often become more productive [00:02:07].

Managers engage in various tasks, including collecting and reporting data, persuading, leading, training, encouraging, and making decisions one-on-one or in groups [00:02:17]. Their day typically begins with meeting preparation (30-60 minutes before) and ends with their last meeting [00:02:32]. The duration of their day is directly proportional to the duration of their meetings [00:02:48]. The main objective for a manager is to use up all their chunks in the day to maximize their time; a fully booked day signifies a maximally invested and productive manager [00:02:55].

The Maker Schedule and Deep Work

The maker schedule is less known but crucial for creators and entrepreneurs who build substantial things [00:03:13]. This schedule is where individuals achieve the highest returns on their time [00:03:28].

Characteristics of the Maker Schedule

A significant portion of an entrepreneur’s time should be dedicated to “making stuff” – this is considered deep work [00:03:37]. These are tasks that are often not urgent but are incredibly important for moving the business forward in the long term [00:03:40]. Examples include coding software, editing videos, or writing books [00:04:15].

Unlike managers, makers operate with a few large chunks of time rather than many small slivers [00:04:51]. An interruption or meeting within a large block (e.g., 4 hours) can prevent a maker from returning to their work and flow state [00:04:59]. The “Zernick effect” describes how unfinished tasks or “open loops” (like impending meetings) consume brainpower and sap a maker’s ability to create [00:05:16].

For makers, the output of their time is the physical “stuff” or “things” they build [00:05:44]. They work off meetings, focusing on projects that cannot be completed in 30-minute intervals and may span weeks or months [00:05:53]. Makers often have a set start time but variable end times, working “open to goal” and staying in flow as long as possible [00:06:06]. This means a maker typically has one to three large chunks of time per day, often a morning and a post-lunch block [00:06:34].

For a maker, an empty time slot is not a lost opportunity; it is the opportunity to achieve significant returns [00:07:44]. A maximally productive day for a maker is characterized by an empty calendar, which fills them with energy and allows them to tackle large projects [00:08:02]. The speaker’s own book-writing period consisted of daily “maker time” with no meetings [00:08:21].

The Problem: Manager-Maker Interaction

The significant issue arises when managers interact with makers, as their diametrically opposed calendar philosophies lead to conflict [00:08:48]. Managers often assume makers can work on demand, perceiving an empty calendar as a lack of work [00:09:06].

A short meeting for a manager costs one work unit (e.g., 15 minutes) out of many [00:09:28]. However, for a maker, the same meeting can consume one of their two main daily time slots, potentially destroying half their day’s productivity [00:09:37]. If a maker is falling behind, a manager’s solution might be to interrupt them more, creating a vicious cycle where check-ins prevent actual work [00:10:01].

When managers don’t understand how makers work, they kill their team’s productivity [00:10:01]. Both parties lose: the manager doesn’t get the desired output, and the maker fails to achieve significant work [00:10:27].

Makers face a dilemma:

1. Offend the manager: Decline the meeting, risking damaged relationships and future collaboration [00:10:52].
2. Destroy half their day: Accept the meeting, often with no clear agenda or yield, and lose valuable maker time [00:11:31]. This also applies to networking invitations [00:11:57].

Being “ruthless” with time is crucial for achieving goals and making valuable contributions [00:12:37]. All significant accomplishments typically occur during maker time, not manager time [00:13:24].

Balancing manager and maker time is essential. For instance, a COO might have more manager days (e.g., four manager days and one maker day), while a CEO might have the inverse (e.g., four maker days and one manager day) [00:14:11]. Both styles are necessary for organizational leverage and high returns [00:14:26]. The key is to understand which style is best for a particular moment [00:14:46].

Solutions for Time Allocation

A three-pronged approach is necessary to address this challenge, involving managers, makers, and the organization as a whole [00:15:30].

For Managers

1. Understand the costs imposed on makers: This includes the cost of coordinating a meeting (disrupting current work) and the cost of the meeting itself (eating an entire work block) [00:15:58]. A meeting costs a maker about 10 times more in terms of lost work units than it costs a manager [00:16:27]. Managers should ensure ad-hoc meetings are truly worth it and consider if issues can wait for a scheduled communication cadence [00:16:39].
2. Understand the value of a “maker’s no”: If a maker declines a meeting, managers should not take offense [00:17:00]. Instead, see it as the maker prioritizing their commitment to the company and important work [00:17:15]. Only frame a meeting as essential if it genuinely requires the maker’s specific insight, giving them time to prepare [00:17:37].
3. Ask your team for their ideal day: Managers should inquire what a maximally productive day looks like for their team members and follow those recommendations as much as possible [00:17:52]. For example, some teams might prefer to batch all meetings into specific time slots, leaving the rest of their calendars empty for deep work [00:18:18]. This also helps managers reduce their own meetings with makers, freeing them for other managerial tasks [00:18:35].
4. Realize that not all work needs to be synchronous: Many tasks do not require simultaneous work from everyone [00:18:51].

For Makers

1. Communicate how you work: Inform managers about your work style, potentially sharing content that explains the maker-manager dynamic [00:19:10].
2. Switch to a manager schedule when forced: If a meeting interrupts a maker block, switch that entire block to a manager schedule [00:19:43]. Use that time to knock out as many other ad-hoc meetings as possible [00:19:50]. The goal is to optimize the productivity system for that period, not identify solely as one or the other [00:20:10].
3. Have standard meeting times: Designate specific days or afternoons (e.g., Monday and Thursday afternoons) for accepting meetings [00:20:28]. Push non-urgent meetings to these blocks to maximize remaining time [00:20:53]. Leave some empty slots within these designated times for inevitable ad-hoc meetings [00:21:06].
4. Prioritize maker time, especially early on: In the initial stages, makers might need to dedicate nights, weekends, and early mornings to their deep work, as their time may not yet be highly valued [00:21:21]. This dedicated time is essential for building foundational assets and systems [00:22:04].
5. Plan your day back-to-front: When scheduling meetings, book them from the end of the day backwards (e.g., 5 PM, then 4 PM, then 3:30 PM) to keep the beginning of the day as open as possible for maker time [00:23:03]. This minimizes small, unproductive gaps between meetings [00:23:28].
6. Communicate slow response times: Inform people when you will be slow to respond, particularly during your maker blocks [00:24:54]. People adapt when expectations are set [00:25:00].
7. Actually work when you say you will: If others respect your maker schedule, you owe it to them to use that time productively [00:25:25]. Failing to do so confirms managers’ suspicions that empty calendars mean no work is being done [00:25:39].

For Organizations

1. Consider mandated quiet time: Implement calendar blocks where entire teams cannot message or meet, either for a specific time each day or full days of the week [00:26:45]. This ideally applies to teams with makers (engineers, developers, writers, editors, etc.) who require intense, uninterrupted periods [00:27:11]. This is particularly important for remote work, where the transparency of “working” is reduced, requiring a higher degree of trust and measuring by output [00:27:29].
2. Cultivate a culture of trust and autonomy: Managers should extend periods of trust, allowing makers to make without constant check-ins, provided they meet deadlines and output expectations [00:28:18].
3. Encourage clarity on “hats”: Entrepreneurs should clearly communicate to their teams whether they are wearing their “maker hat” or “manager hat” for a given day or period, setting expectations for communication and engagement [00:29:40].
4. Regularly audit meetings: Implement a culture where meetings are routinely reviewed and eliminated if unnecessary [00:33:38]. This includes deleting meetings at the start of each week and quarterly reviewing recurring meetings to combine or remove attendees [00:33:54].
5. Understand the true cost of meetings: Organizations often spend significant money on meetings (e.g., 10 people on a 1-hour call could be a $500 expense) without recognizing it as a major cost [00:34:42]. A culture where individuals can leave a meeting if they aren’t adding value effectively returns time to the company [00:34:31].
6. Spread awareness and shared language: Distribute content explaining the maker-manager dynamic to all employees [00:35:34]. This shared understanding helps identify and prevent waste, leading to higher returns on human capital, happier employees, longer retention, and increased quality and quantity of work [00:35:50].

Personal Application of Maker/Manager Time

The speaker’s own calendar demonstrates the practical application of these concepts. For a particular week, the speaker had three dedicated maker days with no meetings, focusing solely on creative work like video production [00:30:10]. The manager day was densely packed with various meetings: team, executive, one-on-ones, and customer calls [00:31:22]. Many meetings are deliberately not on the speaker’s calendar because leadership and other teams handle them, representing a “relinquishing of control” essential for entrepreneurial freedom [00:32:31].

At Acquisition.com, Wednesdays are designated as quiet days organization-wide for makers, allowing them to focus on big projects [00:30:48]. This structure provides a guaranteed quiet day within two business days, ensuring regular opportunities for deep work [00:31:08].

The speaker outlines three phases of adopting this time management strategy:

• V1 (Early Stage): Maker time occurs during nights, weekends, and early mornings, as the primary job occupies regular hours [00:21:40]. This requires working “double” – the current job plus the “next job” to transition out [00:24:04].
• V2 (Intermediate Stage): A 50/50 split, with the first half of the day dedicated to maker time and the second half to manager time, often scheduled back-to-front [00:24:16].
• V3 (Current Stage): Entire maker days (2-4 per week) are balanced with a single manager day where all meetings are stacked [00:24:25]. This prevents feeling unproductive on manager days, as the expectation is clear [00:24:44].

This approach is designed to increase awareness of different working styles, helping makers articulate their needs and managers understand the true cost of interruptions [00:36:20].